Wow! What an amazing job you did on cleaning up that beauty! It looks fantastic!

Suzanne

Kind of at a standstill but still working on
 

I haven't been giving as much attention to the machine, but have been doing a few things. I will need to work on the wood (black walnut - oil rubbed originally), but need some warmer weather to do that.

I took off the brass bits and found that one of them had a leather piece under it as shown in this picture.

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and the left one had something under it but not as thick.

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I tried brasso and a cotton ball and this is how they looked after polishing a bit.

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I decided to try Nevr-Dull that I had gotten back in 2010 when I was working on my sister's machine. It seems to have dried out some, but evidently still has what it needs to clean off the tarnish. I don't if you can tell in this picture, but it seems to me that they are a different color, maybe a different batch of metal used for the lefts and rights.

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I think I may try to plug the screw holes for the hinge screws as most of them were not sitting flush with the hinges.

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I've been corresponding a bit with someone else that has a Weed FF and it appears that her machine has a leather piece under the bobbin winder. I would think that this might raise the bobbin winder to a position that would allow the bobbin winder tire to ride closer to parallel to the balance wheel. I also noticed a couple of brass pieces on the front opening of the table that may have been worn down or broken off. I'm thinking that originally they would have propped the bed up some in the front to help some more to raise the bobbin winder, also.

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I also wiped down the irons with sewing machine oil. There are some missing paint spots, but it looks really nice. (I didn't take any pictures of it yet, though.) I put a thick rubber band on the flywheel guard thing. I think that it will work to prevent the flywheel from going the wrong direction.

Seems like I'm missing something that I was going to write about, but can't think of it right now.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

Definitely didn't think that all the way through. If it lifts the bed, it will also lift the balance wheel. So now what are those little posts for? What did they look like originally?

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

those spots look like the location that they typically put pads (Leather or rubber) to help isolate the vibrations from the machine. Early Howe machines even have the rear hinges in a padded cup...

Those spots are non-ferrous metal and the left one has a hole in the center that goes down about 3/8" - Maybe some type of ferrule? or maybe kind of like a thumb tack with leather on top??

I'm thinking maybe leather since the holder pictured above had leather under it. I couldn't see any wear spots on the base of the machine, but the right one looks like the metal was worn down.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

Murphy Oil Soap OK?????? for oil rubbed wood????
 

Finally, a decent day to wipe down the wood with BLO and vinegar. I took before pictures but haven't put on computer, yet. I didn't take any of the process. I wish I had started earlier in the day. I think that it was only outside about a half hour after I had wiped it down. I only did the inside of the bonnet and the underside of the leaf and table. I actually put the BLO & vinegar in a tuna can and stirred it with a plastic spoon and then daubed my wadded rags in it to wipe on the wood, let sit about 10 minutes and then wiped with a dry rag. Next time - I'll use a glass jar so I can shake it. I put the rags I used into a plastic coffee can with Dawn & water, swooshed a bit and rung out and hung on the clothesline.

I was very favorably impressed, however, I'm thinking I may want to clean the top off with something else, first, before I wipe with BLO. I have Murphy's in a tub and also a spray Murphy's Oil Soap. Do you think that would be okay? I know not to drench it and then to dry it off.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

Quick Update
 

We had some decent weather over the weekend and decided to do something with the wood tops. I used Glenn's reviving solution #1 and then skipped solution #2 and wiped down with mineral spirits and then a dry cloth.

A lot depends on how you look at the wood but it sure looks better -- I have made Before and After in the same image as follows.

Bonnet - I didn't get a full shot of the bonnet like the after so did the front and top to show what it looked like before.

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not the whole top - just the corner - The white ring is darker and the other rings might be varnish or poly??? this morning I took a straight edge and scrapped some off - pictures later

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and the leaf --

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Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

Nice work, it looks much better. I think the scars give it character.

Cari

Great improvement, and a much better idea than totally refinishing. It wouldn't be logical to have the cabinet look brand new.

Dianne in Colorado

Do you think if I punched a hole in a piece of leather about that size and rubber cemented it on top of the brass pieces that would help bring it closer to what was originally there? Or do you have any other suggestions?

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.